We shouldn’t have to rely on Stormzy to flag up deprivation and neglect

a article by Kimberly McIntosh published online by the Guardian

With estimates that half of ethnic-minority children live in poverty, Theresa May must act on her pledge to tackle inequality

When Stormzy spoke out at the Brits against Theresa May’s response to Grenfell, it wasn’t just about the disgraceful response to the fire. It was also a reflection of the reality facing people growing up on neglected estates. He has spoken before about his experience of poverty in his childhood, and his struggle to stay on the right track.

Stormzy’s black Britishness is a factor here for, as he vented his frustration, he again highlighted the enduring fact that issues impacting ethnic minorities are rarely prioritised. He gave urgency to the question so many continue to ask: had the Grenfell tragedy occurred in Gloucestershire, were child poverty endemic in Cambridge instead of Tower Hamlets, would we not see a stronger response from the government?

Last year May said we must hold a mirror up to our society. With the race disparity audit, she did just that – releasing a wealth of data that showed entrenched racial inequality was endemic. But there was a specific ill there in plain sight that either she didn’t see or we have chosen not to talk about. The End Child Poverty Coalition reports increases in child poverty in Britain’s most deprived areas and the fact that the top 10 most deprived areas are also the places with the most black and ethnic-minority children. But it’s worse than that. Analysis of census and other data by the Runnymede Trusts suggests that nearly half of ethnic-minority children in Britain today live in poverty conditions.

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